How would an individual mandate be enforced?
Mandates would be enforced by requiring individuals to provide proof of insurance when filing their federal tax returns. Tax penalties would be imposed on individuals who cannot prove coverage. In the House bill, the penalty would be imposed as a tax of 2.5 percent of income above a specified income threshold. The Senate bill would impose a penalty of $750 per uninsured individual up to a family maximum of three times that amount ($2,250). In both cases, the Administrator of the health insurance program would specify the format for the proof of insurance. It can also be expected that employers who provide insurance to their workers would confirm the insurance as an information item on the IRS Form W-2 provided each year to their employees.
